🔗 Share this article

It's hard to believe, but we're approaching the new Switch 2 console's six-month milestone. When the upcoming Metroid Prime 4 debuts on December 4, we'll be able to give the console a comprehensive assessment based on its strong lineup of exclusive initial releases. Major titles like the new Donkey Kong game will dominate that analysis, but it's Nintendo's two most recent games, the Pokémon Legends installment and recently Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, that have enabled the new console conquer a critical examination in its first six months: the hardware evaluation.

Tackling Power Issues

Before Nintendo publicly unveiled the new console, the main issue from players around the then-theoretical console was about power. In terms of technology, the company fell behind Sony and Microsoft over the last few console generations. That fact became apparent in the end of the Switch era. The desire was that a new model would deliver more stable framerates, smoother textures, and modern capabilities like ultra-high definition. That's precisely what arrived when the system was released in June. Or that's what its technical details suggested, for the most part. To accurately assess if the upgraded system is an improvement, we required examples of some key games performing on the hardware. We've finally gotten that over the last two weeks, and the prognosis remains healthy.

The Pokémon Title serving as Early Examination

The system's initial big challenge arrived with last month's Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The Pokémon series had notable performance issues on the original Switch, with games like Scarlet and Violet debuting in downright disastrous states. Nintendo's hardware wasn't solely responsible for that; the actual engine running Game Freak's RPGs was outdated and strained much further than it could go in the franchise's move to open-world. Legends: Z-A would be more challenging for its creator than anything else, but there remained much to observe from the game's visual clarity and how it runs on the new system.

While the game's restricted visual fidelity has sparked discussions about the studio's prowess, there's no denying that the latest installment is not at all like the technical failure of its preceding game, the previous Legends game. It operates at a smooth 60 frames on Switch 2, but the Switch version tops out at 30 fps. Pop-in is still present, and you'll find many low-resolution elements if you zoom in, but you won't encounter anything similar to the situation in Arceus where you begin airborne travel and see the entire ground below transform into a rough, low-poly terrain. It's enough to grant the new console a satisfactory rating, but with caveats given that the developer has its own problems that amplify limited hardware.

The New Zelda Game serving as a More Demanding Hardware Challenge

There is now a tougher hardware challenge, though, due to the new Hyrule Warriors, out Nov. 6. The latest Musou title pushes the Switch 2 due to its action-oriented style, which has gamers battling a massive horde of creatures continuously. The earlier title, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, performed poorly on the initial console as the system couldn't handle with its quick combat and numerous on-screen elements. It regularly decreased below the desired frame rate and created the sensation that you were pushing too hard when being too aggressive.

Fortunately is that it too succeeds the performance examination. Having tested the release thoroughly during the past month, experiencing every level it has to offer. In that time, I've found that it achieves a more stable framerate compared to its predecessor, actually hitting its 60 fps mark with better regularity. It sometimes drops in the most heated of battles, but There were no instances of any time when the game turns into a choppy presentation as the frame rate suffers. Part of that could be because of the reality that its short levels are designed to avoid overwhelming hordes on the display simultaneously.

Notable Compromises and Final Evaluation

Remaining are foreseeable trade-offs. Primarily, cooperative multiplayer sees performance taking a substantial reduction around 30 frames. It's also the premier exclusive release where I've really noticed a significant contrast between older OLED technology and the updated LCD screen, with particularly during cinematics appearing less vibrant.

But for the most part, this release is a night and day difference versus its previous installment, similar to the Pokémon game is to Arceus. If you need evidence that the upgraded system is meeting its hardware potential, even with some caveats present, these titles show clearly of how the Switch 2 is substantially boosting franchises that had issues on previous systems.